The strife that killed over 200 people in Kazakhstan seems to have been a power struggle between Nazarbayev, the retired ruler, and the new president Tokayev, who was supposed to preserve the power of Nazarbayev's family.

Maybe the truck drivers' protests were organized by Tokayev's supporters. Or maybe they were real popular protests, and Tokayev hijacked them for his own ends. I don't know how we can find out.